Invisiblewall.net: Gilberto Silva News

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=266895&lid=NewsHeadline&sub=Wenger+welcomes+back+Gilberto&navlid=&sublid=&Title=Wenger+welcomes+back+Gilberto

Highbury will offer a special welcome to Gilberto tomorrow. After more than six months out with a fractured vertebrae, the Brazilian is set to resume his role in central midfield.

It is fair to say that absence has made Arsenal hearts grow fonder of the quiet, efficient and affable 28-year-old. However his manager never needed convincing.

“Gilberto is a quiet guy,” said Arsène Wenger. “He never wants special attention but people forget he is a world champion.

“Sometimes there are players who have a real team attitude – a discreet one, not a flashy one — and sometimes these kinds of players are not rated as much as they should be.

“The positive thing [about his time out] is that when he did not play people realised how important he was.

“Gilberto makes the game fluent and simple. He does the cleaning work and that is always important in the house.

“At the same time I would not want to diminish the merits of Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas. We have still had a reasonable season because they have done very well. That was unexpected. But at some stage, when we did not have Edu, Gilberto and Vieira, we were very young.”

And for all their abundant abilities, there is one thing Flamini and Fabregas do not have — height. (Though, at 17, the Spaniard is still growing). Wenger believes the lack of another strapping six-footer in the Arsenal area has hindered his side in defending set-pieces.

“Gilberto is good in the air and some stage we were a little bit too small,” said the manager. “You suffer a bit less on set-pieces when you have Gilberto and Vieira in there.

“If you look at the statistics, we are one of the teams with the least crosses against us but the percentage we have conceded on crosses is three times higher than any other team. That means we were not always able to compete with their size.

“For example Charlton had something like 97 crosses against and we had 36 but we conceded the same amount of goals on headers. In this area Gilberto’s absence has played a big part.”

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=266804&lid=NewsHeadline&sub=Vieira+ruled+out+but+Gilberto+will+start&navlid=&sublid=&Title=Vieira+ruled+out+but+Gilberto+will+start

Vieira ruled out but Gilberto will start

Arsène Wenger will conduct a midfield merry-go-round on Saturday. Just as Gilberto returns to the first-team after a long absence, Patrick Vieira is ruled out with a hip problem.

The Brazilian’s return to the starting line-up has far greater significance than the absence of the Frenchman. Gilberto has been out since mid-September with a fractured vertebrae while Vieira is likely to be sidelined for “two or three days”.

Thierry Henry returns to the squad after his calf problem but in-form Philippe Senderos has been ruled out with a minor thigh injury.

“We do not have Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Philippe Senderos and Sol Campbell tomorrow,” said Wenger.

“Philippe has a very slight thigh muscle problem that will be only two or three days. Patrick has a hip problem and that will be two or three days as well. Also Dennis still has his calf problem and Edu has his cartilage.

“However Thierry is fit and Gilberto will play.”

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ARSENE WENGER has hailed the resilience of world champion Gilberto Silva, who returns to the side today after a career-threatening back injury.

The Gunners boss has also been given a further boost by the return to fitness of Sol Campbell from an ankle injury and the recuperation of striker Thierry Henry who faces Norwich.

Campbell will take in a reserve game on Monday to prove his fitness ahead of the FA Cup semi-final against Blackburn.

Yet it is Gilberto’s comeback that pleased Wenger most last night. He has been sidelined since mid-September and both men feared the player would have to have to hang up his boots as his stress fracture of the back frustrated the medics.

Indeed Wenger believes the Brazilian has only been properly appreciated while he has been missing – and Arsenal’s defensive record has suffered as a result.

The Frenchman said: “The positive thing is when he didn’t play, people realised how important he is and he became a more highly-rated player.

“It’s not only because he protects the centre-backs, it’s also because he’s good in the air and we have conceded many goals from crosses this season.

“It’s a shame as sometimes people who have a real team attitude, rather than a flashy one, only get that kind of recognition when they don’t play. People forget Gilberto is a world champion but he’s a quiet guy and he doesn’t want special attention.

“I wouldn’t like to diminish the merits of Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini as we’ve still had a reasonable season as they’ve done extremely well.

“But when we didn’t have Edu, Gilberto and Vieira together, we were a bit young.”

Gilberto’s return is also particularly timely as Patrick Vieira is ruled out with a hip injury and Edu is still missing with a hamstring problem.

Henry (left), who returns from a calf injury, recently claimed Gilberto was as important to Arsenal as Makelele is to Chelsea. Wenger added: “Yes, they do a similar job. They make the game fluent and simple.”

Although Gilberto is ready to return after playing three times for the reserves, Wenger revealed: “It was very serious.

“If he had needed surgery, he could have locked a part of the back that needs to be very flexible for a footballer.

“It was a stress fracture from fatigue. He developed that in Brazil with his shin and was out for nine months, but he has worked tremendously hard to return.”

Wenger is wary of the threat posed by Norwich and especially striker Dean Ashton, whom he tried to sign from Crewe.

“We wanted to take him on as he’d played so well in the Youth Cup against us,” he added.

“We watched him again and again, but Crewe wanted to keep him. And when he was finally available, we didn’t need him.”